In the fall of 2024, I took my family to explore a beautiful grove of giant hemlocks over 300 years old in Coopers Rock State Forest. While researching the hike, I had a hard time finding clear information, so I put together this post to help others.
First, I’m not certain of the the trail’s name. I’ve seen it called Virgin Hemlock Trail and the Hemlock Hiking Trail. I also noticed the hike described with different distances. My guess is that distances might vary depending if you decided to complete this as a loop or an out and back.
For our family, we ended up hiking a loop for about 2 miles total. The trail featured stairs, a peaceful stream, and most notably some giant hemlocks.
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Summary
- parking – small roadside parking area on Old Rt 73 – (high clearance vehicle suggested)
- restrooms – no restrooms available (plan accordingly)
- distance – about a 2-mile loop hike
- taking the kids – we used a child carrier intermittently for our youngest (about 18 months at the time), but our other two children were 4 and 6 at the time and hiked this on their own
Parking and Restrooms
There was a small roadside parking area just off of Old Rt 73. I recall that the curb was fairly high. We were driving a truck, so it wasn’t an issue for us, but it’s something to keep in mind if you have a vehicle with lower ground clearance.
There were no restrooms at the trailhead. A large sign visible from the road marked the start of the trail.
The Hike
I think of this as a lollipop hike. We hiked in a short distance (about a quarter mile if I had to guess). The hike in featured some stairs downward and a bridge.
The hike in came to a T where we made a left.
We decided to go left so that we could hit the hemlocks towards the end of our hike. Going left led to a slight incline and a slight decline on the loop back.
We weren’t sure if this area was open to hunting so we wore orange vests to be safe.
I recall that this trail was not super well marked. But we started to loop back just before approaching the hemlock grove. As the trail looped back through the hemlock grove, it paralleled a creek.
The giant hemlocks were truly an impressive sight.
The trail looped us back to the area with the bridge where we took the trail back out and up toward where we parked.
Here is a breakdown of our hike for reference.
After our hike that day, we visited Screech Owl Brewing for a delicious lunch and some craft beer tastings. Our kids loved this place too because it offered a giant sandbox to play in.
At the time we visited, the brewery was only open a few days a week. I’m not sure if that is still the case. But I would suggesting checking the hours before you plan to visit.
If you are interested in another hike with giant hemlocks, I would suggest The Hemlock Trail in Laurel Hill State Park.
Nearby Attractions
- Here is another hike we completed in Coopers Rock State Forest. We also enjoyed hiking to Raven’s Rock before (just never got around to logging the hike).
- Mon River Trail – Family Brewery Bike Ride
- Family Fun at Cheat Lake Park
I hope you go check out the giant hemlocks in Coopers Rock State Forest. Tag me in your adventures on Instagram @adventureswkelly. I want to see or hear about your adventures on the Virgin Hemlock Trail.
